Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Support the Arts? Why?

Randy Cohen, vice president of research and planning at Americans for the Arts posted on Arts Blog ten months ago a nice list of the top ten reasons to support the arts. The McAninch Arts Center has a bright future ahead of it, but it will depend on whether the community we serve and the senior administration of the College of DuPage believe the arts provide something of value, and if that value is worth supporting with their dollars.

be well
Stephen

I give you Randy Cohen's "Top Ten Reasons to Support the Arts" from April 11, 2012

1. True prosperity. The arts are fundamental to our
humanity. They ennoble and inspire us—fostering creativity, goodness,
and beauty. They help us express our values, build bridges between
cultures, and bring us together regardless of ethnicity, religion, or
age. When times are tough, the arts are salve for the ache.

2. Improved academic performance. Students with an
education rich in the arts have higher GPAs and standardized test
scores, lower drop-out rates, and even better attitudes about community
service—benefits reaped by students regardless of socioeconomic status.
Students with four years of arts or music in high school average 100
points better on their SAT scores than students with one-half year or
less.

4. Arts are good for local merchants. The typical
arts attendee spends $24.60 per person, per event, not including the
cost of admission on items such as meals, parking, and babysitters.
Non-local arts audiences (who live outside the county) spend nearly
twice as much as local arts attendees ($39.96 vs. $17.42)—valuable
revenue for local businesses and the community.

5. Arts are the cornerstone of tourism. Arts
travelers are ideal tourists—they stay longer and spend more. The U.S.
Department of Commerce reports that the percentage of international
travelers including museum visits on their trip has grown annually since
2003 (17 to 24 percent), while the share attending concerts and theater
performances increased five of the past seven years (13 to 17 percent
since 2003).

6. Arts are an export industry. U.S. exports of arts
goods (everything from movies to paintings to jewelry) grew to $64
billion in 2010. With U.S. imports at just $23 billion, the arts
achieved a $41 billion trade surplus in 2010.

7. Building the 21st century workforce. Reports by
The Conference Board show creativity is among the top-five applied
skills sought by business leaders—with 72 percent saying creativity is
of high importance when hiring. The biggest creativity indicator? A
college arts degree. Their Ready to Innovate report concludes, “…the arts—music, creative writing, drawing, dance—provide skills sought by employers of the 3rd millennium.”

8. Healthcare. Nearly one-half of the nation’s
healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families,
and even staff. 78 percent deliver these programs because of their
healing benefits to patients—shorter hospital stays, better pain
management, and less medication.

9. Stronger communities. University of Pennsylvania
researchers have demonstrated that a high concentration of the arts in a
city leads to higher civic engagement, more social cohesion, higher
child welfare, and lower poverty rates. A vibrant arts community ensures
that young people are not left to be raised solely in a pop culture and
tabloid marketplace.

10. Creative Industries. The Creative Industries
are arts businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies, and
theaters to for-profit film, architecture, and advertising companies. An
analysis of Dun & Bradstreet data counts 904,581 businesses in the
U.S. involved in the creation or distribution of the arts that employ
3.3 million people—representing 4.25 percent of all businesses and 2.15
percent of all employees, respectively.